45 mm/89 SM-21-ZIF (45 mm)
Contents
Description
Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
The 45mm/89 SM-21-ZIF is a postwar Soviet 45 mm naval autocannon mounting. It uses the same cannon as the SM-20-ZIF mount, but in a single mount rather than a quadruple mount. The simplest comparison to make is with the Swedish 40 mm Bofors gun: a hard-hitting, high velocity autocannon with a mediocre rate of fire.
Available ammunition
The SM-21-ZIF has one ammunition belt choice: alternating 45 mm HEF and HEF-T*. The tracer round, besides helping you aim, contains slightly more explosive filler: 54 grams A-IX-2 for the non-tracer round versus 60 grams A-IX-2 for the tracer round. Both rounds have a considerable amount of explosive power and have an excellent muzzle velocity of 1,080 m/s.
Comparison with analogues
Bofors (40 mm) (Family): The ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm L/60 loses out to the SM-21-ZIF in terms of muzzle velocity and explosive power. However, the L/60 gun has a better rate of fire and access to AP ammunition. This allows it to engage targets with armour that are too strong for the SM-21-ZIF to damage effectively, such as the SF40 Light. Overall, they have the same practical effectiveness against light targets, but the SM-21-ZIF can generally be considered superior for most use cases.
On the other hand, the Bofors 40 mm L/70 (as found on Hugin, for example) can generally be considered to be in the same class as, or even superior to, the SM-21-ZIF. Advantages of the L/70 gun include access to HE-VT ammunition, higher rate of fire, and overall having more explosive mass in both of its ammunition choices. The ZIF has comparable explosive effect with slightly higher velocity and is less prone to overheating, as well as being found at a much lower Battle Rating.
Usage in battles
Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful high-explosive shells
- Excellent muzzle velocity
- Takes a long time to overheat
Cons:
- Somewhat low rate of fire
- No protection for gun crew or gun module
- No armour-piercing ammunition
History
Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
External links
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- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
